Flash

pretty exalted circles these days, thanks to my brother. Why did you ask about my coffee consumption?''
    "I just wondered. You sound a little uptight."
    She went off like Mount St. Helens, without any warning.
    "Uptight? Now, why would I be uptight? Just because I've got a major event scheduled for an important client tomorrow night, my aunt is being blackmailed, I've got footprints on my floor—"
    "You're worried about footprints? No offense, but I don't see you as the compulsively neat type, Olivia."
    "And on top of everything else," she said, overriding the interruption, "I'm about to get a call from a reporter who wants to grill me about my relationship with the new CEO of Glow. No, sir. Nothing going on around here that might make a person a little tense. Nothing at all."
    Jasper heard another slurp. A large one this time.
    From out of nowhere he was overtaken with a wholly irrational urge to soothe her. "About your aunt's blackmailer…"
    "What about him?" she demanded.
    "Try not to worry too much. Once we get Zara's list, it won't take a professional investigator long to figure out who's behind the extortion."
    "I hope you're right. Zara certainly believes in you. She feels much better this morning now that you've taken charge of the situation."
    Olivia sounded disgruntled now. Jasper wondered if his assuming the lead on the problem annoyed her. She was accustomed to making the decisions.
    "Like I said, blackmail, especially this kind, is almost always a personal thing."
    "You may be right," she said. "I would certainly like to personally throttle the jerk who's terrorizing my aunt Look, I've got to go, Jasper. I've got a lot to do this morning."
    "So do I." But he did not hang up the phone.
    Neither did she.
    Jasper heard her take another swallow of coffee. He sensed that she was steeling herself.
    "Jasper?" Her voice was tight.
    "Yes?"
    "Where did you go last night after you left my place?"
    Of all the questions he had been expecting, that was last on the list.
    "Home to Bainbridge." He propped one shoulder against the windowsill. "Why?"
    "No reason."
    Like hell, he thought So much for the subtle approach. He had nothing to lose by being a little more direct, himself. "Funny, I was wondering about something, too."
    "What's that?"
    "Did you send someone to search my house last night while we had dinner together?"
    There was an unnatural stillness on the other end of the line. Not even a coffee slurp disturbed the crashing silence.
    Jasper continued to lean against the edge of the window, but every muscle in his body went taut as he waited for her answer. Not that it would tell him much, he thought. Not if she chose to lie.
    "I think," Olivia said very carefully, "that you and I had better talk."
    "We are talking."
    "Privately. I'll meet you at that Market espresso bar where you found me yesterday. Ten minutes."
    "Olivia, what the hell is going on here? I don't have time for any more cloak-and-dagger stuff."
    There was no response. Olivia had already hung up the phone.

    "Searched your study?" Olivia wrapped her hands around the small cup of supercharged espresso she had just bought. She leaned urgently across the little table. "And your computer files? You're sure?"
    Jasper gave her a warning glance as he methodically unwrapped the piece of biscotti he had purchased to go with his coffee. "This is a public place. You might want to keep your voice down."
    Olivia did a quick, impatient survey of the handful of occupied tables nearby and lowered her tone. "You really believe someone went into your home and through your personal records last night?"
    "I figure I've got two choices. Either someone searched my study or I've gone full-blown paranoid."
    That gave her pause. "Is paranoia a meaningful option here?"
    He ignored the question. "You're sure about the footprint?"
    "Yes." She took a swift sip of the potent espresso and waited hopefully for the jolt. "That is, I'm sure there was a man's footprint on the rug under my computer desk this morning. But in all honesty, I'm not sure what it was doing there. I couldn't tell if someone had actually used my computer."
    "What about your hard copy files? The stuff in the drawers? Any evidence that someone went through them?"
    "Who knows? How could you tell if someone had rummaged through a filing cabinet?"
    "Those of us who take filing and organization seriously are probably better equipped to detect the work of an intruder than those who don't," Jasper said very